Voter Registration Information for State of Tennessee

To register to vote in the State of Tennessee an individual must meet the following qualifications:

Be a United States Citizen

Be at least 18 years old on/or before the election

Be a resident of Tennessee

Must not have been convicted of a felony, or if you have, your full rights of citizenship have been restored (or you must have received a pardon)

In order to participate in an election, a qualified voter must be properly registered no later than thirty (30) days before the election. The election commission office will process any by-mail voter registration form that has been postmarked at least thirty (30) days before the election.

Can select party affiliation at the polls.

You can register in person at the following locations:

The local county election commission office

Department of Safety (motor vehicles division)

Department of Health (WIC program)

Department of Human Services

Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation

Department of Veteran’s Affairs

Public libraries

County clerk’s offices

Register of deed’s offices

You can obtain voter registration mail-in forms at the following locations:

County elections commission office

Post office

Other public offices across the state

You can also obtain a Voter Registration Application from online. Mail completed forms to your County Election Commission.

Absentee Voting:

You can vote in-person between 20 days to 5 days before an election. A registered voter may request a by-mail ballot by simply writing to the voter’s local county election commission office.

To expedite the process, the voter may place the following information in the request for the ballot:

The name of the registered voter;

The address of the voter's residence;

The voter's social security number;

The address to mail the ballot outside the county (this applies only when the reason for voting by mail involves that the voter will be outside of the county during early voting and on Election Day);

The election the voter wishes to participate in. If the election involves a primary, the political party in which the voter wishes to participate;

The reason the voter wishes to vote absentee; and

The voter’s signature.

A request that contains this information will be treated and processed as an application for ballot, and a ballot will be mailed to the voter.

A registered voter may request an application for by-mail ballot no earlier than ninety (90) days before the election and no later than seven (7) days before the election. To be processed for the next election, the application must be received by the election commission no later than five (5) days before the election.

The county election commission must receive the ballot by mail no later than the close of polls on Election Day. Once the election commission issues an absentee by-mail ballot to a voter, the voter can only vote by mail.